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Ian Taylor
Grand Admiral Ian Erasmus Taylor, Reydovan Imperial Navy (born August 15, 2332, in Scholograd, Reydovan Prime) is a fictional character created by Joshua Underwood in the Star Trek universe. Taylor has been portrayed by Jeremy Irons since 2005; he was mentioned in early drafts of the character history of Artimus Devaneaux as early as 2004. History Ian Taylor was born to a husband-wife pair of Imperial diplomats, and he aspired to be like them when he grew older. However, in December 2348, the Taylors were killed just before the Sha'kurian War when the ship transporting them to Sha'kuria was coldbloodedly ambushed by the aliens' carrier-based fighters. Orphaned at 16, Ian abandoned any intent of becoming a diplomat like his parents. On January 30, 2349, he petitioned his father's friend, Admiral Daniel Neill, to allow him to join the Imperial Navy. Neill in turn went to the Navy's commander-in-chief, Chancellor Joshua Underwood, with Taylor's request. Imperial Navy Service, 2349-Present Taylor was tested at the Imperial Military Academy in Montagne Noire, and worked hard with a solemnity that convinced the Chancellor that this was the kind of man needed in the recently-starting war with the Sha'kurians. He served on Underwood's flagship, the aging Inquisitor-class cruiser Sampetra, for most of the campaign, including the final battle near Belle Terre in April 2350. Taylor earned his first command, the Inquisitor - the flagship of Emperor Kiran Joshmaul himself, in 2361. The Inquisitor had served along with her sister ship Sampetra during the UFP-Reydovan War from 2298 to 2301. When the Inquisitor class was retired in 2364 following the development of newer craft, Taylor was transferred from the Emperor's flagship. He received the destroyer Amistad, first in her class, during her trials in 2367. In 2371, he joined the Imperial Navy's special forces, known as the Ground Invasion Force, and as the war with the Dominion broke out he began working hard learning how to lead men into battle, either on his ship or as part of a boarding party. In 2373, the Amistad was involved in the Battle of Korolev Prime, the only battle of the Dominion War fought in Imperial space. The Dominion had attempted to send a splinter force into the Empire, believing it weak; they were sorely mistaken. With aid from the Starfleet Marine Corps, the Imperial Navy ambushed the Dominion forces in the Imperial Gate, using "clearings" in the volative metreon nebulae that comprise the Korolev Expanse as cover. Grand Fleet, and Exodus In 2376, Taylor was promoted to Admiral and received command of both Chancellor Underwood's new flagship, HRMS Absolution, and the Chancellor's Grand Fleet. Convinced by both his daughter Celest and the exiled Ethan Neill, almost a year after receiving command of the Grand Fleet, Taylor followed his son-in-law, Kieran Devaneaux, and Chancellor Underwood in an exodus from Reydovan Prime, leading much of the Grand Fleet with them. Whoever did not join them, Underwood commanded reluctantly, must be destroyed to prevent Joshmaul from finding them. Taylor himself was captured by Joshmaul's spies and held as a prisoner in the fortress of his brother-in-law, Artimus Devaneaux. Taylor was sadistically tortured by Artimus, a master of telepathic intrusion, for years before finally finding the ability to escape. On August 19, 2379, aided by Ethan's agents, Taylor sent out an urgent message to his daughter, the tactical officer onboard the Federation starship Bill of Rights. Then a more official distress call went out from within Castle Devaneaux, and the Bill of Rights' captain, Andrew Waverleigh - knowing that his ship's patrol was closest to Reydovan space - felt required to act. Travelling quickly across Reydovan space, the Bill of Rights located Taylor's signal and beamed him and the 274 other prisoners of Castle Devaneaux safely aboard. The Bill of Rights was then chased by Imperial carrier-based fighter squadrons, all the way across the Empire until the Akira-class starship finally shook off her pursuers in the Korolev Expanse. Upon learning of this, Chancellor Underwood awarded Waverleigh with the Order of Reydovan, the second Starfleet officer to receive the honor (the first being Jonathan Ross). Commander-in-Chief After recuperating for a time on Earth, Taylor encountered Kieran during one of his visits to Earth to be with his wife and children while Celest was on shore leave. Offering his services to his new Emperor, Taylor asked Kieran to take him back to the fleet, assembled in orbit of Gorak'nar. The Emperor-in-Exile agreed, and upon arriving on Gorak'nar on March 20, 2380, Kieran - at the suggestion of Underwood - promoted Taylor to the rank of Grand Admiral and appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Exiles' Imperial Navy. Taylor, Ian